Spurs' "Pop" takes top honors

SAN ANTONIO (April 22, 2014) – The NBA today announced that San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2013-14 NBA Coach of the Year.

Popovich joins Don Nelson and Pat Riley as the only coaches to win the award three times. Popovich also received the award following the 2002-03 and 2011-12 seasons. He totaled 380 points, including 59 first-place votes, from a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. The award voting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.

In his 18th season as head coach of the Spurs, Popovich guided San Antonio to a league-best 62-20 (.756) record, extending its streak of winning at least 50 games to an NBA record 15 consecutive seasons. The team posted an NBA-best 30-11 road record, the best road mark in franchise history and only the 13th time in NBA history a team has won 30 road games in a season.

San Antonio led the NBA in points per game differential at +7.8, having averaged 105.4 points per contest while giving up just 97.6. Popovich presided over a balanced roster which for the first time in NBA history featured no player who averaged 30-plus minutes, with Tony Parker's 29.4 minutes per game leading that category. The Spurs used 30 different starting lineups throughout the season and were led in scoring by 11 different players.

In 2013-14, the Indiana native led the Spurs to their 17th consecutive postseason berth, which marks the longest active streak and tied for fifth-longest in NBA history. He has led the franchise to four NBA Championships, which ranks fifth-most by a head coach in NBA history. His 134 playoff victories currently ranks third all-time, trailing only Phil Jackson (229) and Pat Riley (171).

Popovich is the longest tenured coach with the same team in all four major professional sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL). His 967 career victories are ninth on the all-time list and the most among active NBA coaches.

Since the 1997-98 season, Popovich, Tim Duncan and the Spurs have the best winning percentage over any 17-year span in NBA history at .706 (950-396).

The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996, Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary.